The United States was defeated this week by Cuba and an overwhelming majority of countries in the UN General Assembly. Not only did Havana achieve the approval for the twenty-seventh consecutive time of the resolution against the blockade of their powerful neighbor of the north, but they also defeated in an additional vote a twisted maneuver, which tried to undermine the meaning of the resolution and desperately justify the brutal measure of force against the Cuban people.

Regarding the crazy last-minute US attempt, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla said that Washington in its attempts to increase hostility against Cuba has had no limits in creating difficulties for the UN General Assembly. He explained that the Department of State presented a text a few days ago with eight paragraphs of amendments to the draft resolution “the need to end the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba”. But then, the US maliciously divided that document into eight separate amendments that were submitted to the Assembly for analysis.

Bruno considers that the intention of the United States was aimed to create pretexts to justify the blockade and create the illusion that it has international support. Once again Washington has surpassed itself in cynicism. The amendments were related to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals, something unusual, because Cuba was one of the few countries recognized by the UN for its compliance with the Millennium Development Goals and, despite the blockade, its social system allows it to surely reach the goals for 2030.

The other issue is human rights, in which Cuba has an exemplary record, in contrast to its accuser; a serial violator of those rights in its territory and in the entire planet. The blockade itself is, a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of human rights which has continued for almost 60 years. It is the most unjust, cruel and prolonged punitive measure to which a people has been subjected.

The blockade is the main obstacle to the development of the potentialities of the Cuban economy. It constitutes a brake on the implementation of both the National Economic and Social Development Plan and the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, as expressed by several UN agencies in their reports for 2017-2018. Here is a fragment of the report from the Office of the Resident Coordinator in Cuba of the UN for activities in favor of development: “Cuba is a country with a high rate of human development. The national authorities have expressed their commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The blockade affects Cuba’s ability to guarantee the constant quality of universal public services, such as health and education, due to the existence of trade restrictions that prevent the purchase of medical supplies and didactic materials from US companies. There are many products that cannot be purchased because they are made in the United States or have its components, including technologies from that country that can save lives, prolong them or increase their quality.

The implementation of the blockade has impeded Cuba’s access to the technology and equipment necessary for advanced learning, scientific research and innovation. During the Trump government, the blockade has been intensified in all aspects, but especially in the pursuit of financial operations of the island, which has become a serious obstacle to its system of collections and payments. This is due to the heavy fines imposed by Washington on numerous banks in third countries for anything that connects them to the Cuban economy. Similarly, the travel alerts issued to its citizens, based on lies about damages from supposed sonic attacks to its diplomats in Havana, have affected the number of visits of Americans to Cuba.

New economic and political measures of the United States against Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua have just been announced. None of this will surrender their people, anymore than their constant aggressions have been able to do in the past. The price of the dignity of the emancipatory processes is to face the blackmails, punishments and crimes of imperialism and the oligarchies with resolution and without hesitation. There is no alternative and it is the only way to victory.